‡ Exploring Design on Two Wheels.

1 minute read
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06/17/2013

Following in the footsteps – well, pedal strokes – of this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan, smart decided to take design to the people and people to where design is made with a bespoke design tour of the German capital’s most exciting creative hotspots – exploring the scene on a smart ebike.

Throughout the festival, design lovers were treated to e-bike several tours, but supply could hardly keep up with demand. In the end, very few slots remained open – possibly supported by the favorable weather. For Bettery Magazine, Unlike’s Simon Harris saddled up and took the tour, so look out for his fresh impressions to be published here over the next few days.

To showcase the city’s design diversity, the tour covered several highlights in Berlin’s key creative districts of Mitte, Kreuzberg, and Friedrichshain.

For DMY, students of Berlin’s University of the Arts (UdK) created special machines and appliances from materials discovered at Modulor Haus. Meanwhile, the Museum der Dinge (museum of things) pays a tribute to the products and objects we use every day; as part of DMY, visitors were treated to miniaturized models of households. Berlin’s Kühn Keramik and Paris’ Astier de Villatte also joint forces to celebrate the festival with an exhibition that highlights the works of both. And at the Finnland-Institut, the smart e-bike tour’s participants were invited to take a closer look at the results of a two-year exchange between urban planners from Berlin and Helsinki with a focus on repurposing unused city space and former industrial areas.

Baerck, on the other hand, provided a counterpoint with a totally different take on design: Besides their usual collections from national as well as international designers, the fashion boutique staged a bespoke “In House Objects” exhibition. Outdoor lovers made a beeline for Pool 22, the inventors of the three-person hammock concept. And last, but not least, the tour stopped at furniture workshop Bettenbartmann who opened their doors to the public for the very first time during the DMY.

Participant feedback was unanimously positive – on the varied hotspot selection and two-wheeled transport, that is. So, thanks again to everyone who took the tour, Simon for providing a pro view, designboom for an inspiring article, and Glacéau vitaminwater for soothing our dry throats on the go!